DVD-Software.info

[Alabaster]

I'm looking for a software package that will allow me to do basic video
editing. My main purpose is to make short films with a middle school
acting class.

I'm looking for something in the $60 - $120 range, or cheaper if
possible. I would consider buying seperate software for the editing and
burning as long as the programs are compatible and don't require a lot
of convoluted conversion. An upgrade path to professional versions
would be nice. It seems that Adobe Premiere Elements, Pinnacle Studio,
and Vegas Movie Studio are the best options so far--any thoughts?

Features I require:

-Capture from Sony DV (firewire)
-Export to Sony DV
-Save as AVI, WMV, MPG, DIVX, Quicktime, or at least a few of these,
with various levels of compression, bitrates, framerates, etc.
-Author and burn to DVD, with menus, subtitles, etc..
-The ability to convert between multiple video formats and encoding
options would be a big plus.
-Some nice transitions and effects would be helpful, but I don't need a
huge library of them.
-Audio sync must be flawless. Other than this, I don't need fancy audio
features, because I am a composer and do most of my audio work in
separate software. The video software only needs to import one or two
tracks.
-A good GUI, and fairly quick rendering if possible-- I tend to work
right up to my deadlines.

I've been trying to search for something online, but so many
questionable-looking packages pop up that it's hard for me pick out
what's good and reliable. Right now I do it through a whole series of
random little conversion programs and encoders that I've found on the
internet, but the process is long and frustrating, and usually requires
a lot of trial and error, and time spent tracking down codecs.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
chris.

[Richard Crowley]

"Alabaster" <noemail@nofreakingemail.net> wrote in message
news:mG3df.8$KC1.190@news.uswest.net...

[Alabaster]

Yes, I'm on PC, and i've used Windows Movie Maker but it's too remedial
for me, as well as buggy--it's given me lots of problems with audio
synchronization, as well as freezing up during renders. In general, I
need a richer feature set anyway.

I have not lurked around here before--this is my first time reading this
board, as a result of a frustrating overnight attempt to finish a
12-minute film with Windows Movie Maker. I had probablems at every
step--capturing, editing, synchronizing, exporting to DV, rendering to
disk, converting, burning to DVD, etc. My computer is souped up for
professional audio production, so it's not a matter of ram or cpu limits.

Right now I'm torn between Vegas and Premiere. Vegas has a strong
reputation with the audio community (I am a composer and audio
engineer), so I'm inclined towards that. But Premiere seems to be user
friendly and fairly ubiquitous--it seems like plugins are more readily
available. Since I'm not especially knowledgeable, there may be
features that I don't even know I should be looking for.

Any thoughts on which of the two (or other) to go with?

I'd like the software to not be TOO proprietary--that is, I'd like the
DVD burning / authoring component to work with files created in other
software as well. And again, the ability to convert between various
formats would be helpful.

Thanks,
chris.



Richard Crowley wrote:

[Richard Crowley]

"Alabaster" wrote ...

[Harry Putnam]

Alabaster <noemail@nofreakingemail.net> writes:


[...]

[Jona Vark]

"Alabaster" <noemail@nofreakingemail.net> wrote in message
news:ug4df.23$Bm3.231@news.uswest.net...

[Gary]

I have Vegas Video 3.0 when it was still from Sonic Foundry, and Vegas
Video Studio from Sony which I got for basic DVD authoring which VV 3.0
doesn't have.

One thing I like to do typically is have a collection of clips each
available on the menu, but when you select one, play through to the end
rather than come back to the menu after the clip ends each time. The
only way DVD Architect Studio included with Vegas Studio allows you to
do this is if you have all of your media rendered as an AVI with
markers at the chapter points, but you can't do it if your clips are
already rendered to MPEG. This is a huge time waste if you are
tweaking one little clip but need to re-render the whole thing every
time. I don't like to re-render as a step in authoring, come on!

I finally gave up and got TMPGenc for DVD authoring, about $60. It
gives you the choice per clip I think to either play through or return
to the menu.

One problem with all of this is that as a newbie I didn't really know
what I wanted, assumed that the product would have some flexibility
where I needed it, but was wrong. I haven't tried the other packages
you mentioned but ultimately it may come down, as it did with me, that
you really want just ONE thing that your sw won't do and then have to
go get something else. Good thing that I didn't drop $900 on something
to find that out!

[Alabaster]

Harry Putnam wrote:

[Alpha]

What you want in the package is *not* available in the hobbyist versions of
Premiere and Vegas. Neither of the $99 versions can adequately author DVD
structures with subtitles.

Sonic DVDIT 6 Pro has a built in subtitle editor. Caveat Emptor - their
past products have been buggy.

DVD LAB Pro can do subtitles with an external editor...and you have to use
another program for editing ($199).

What you want is only available in the full Premiere and Vegas products.

I am particularly fond of Edius from Canopus .. however the
hardware/software/keyboard bundle is essential (for standard video, about
$1200).

[Guest]

Alpha wrote:

[Alabaster]

Subtitles aren't crucial--I mentioned them as an afterthought, and if
they're not in the $99 version, I can definitely do without them. As
long as the software has all (or most) of the other features. Premiere
and Vegas Movie studio seem to have them, unless I'm misreading
something. Any tips?

chris.

Alpha wrote: